Snatching Victory
by StarYeti
Summary: Argyros Nikos wants nothing more than to test himself at the same school as his adoptive sister, Pyrrha Nikos. But as he involves himself more with his teammates he soon finds out that the circumstances surrounding his birth might be coming back to haunt him, and his team.


1

Towards Victory

* * *

"_The will to conquer is the first condition of Victory."_

\- Ferdinand Foch

* * *

"No. I won't let you go to Beacon." Green eyes sparkled sternly behind a pair of glasses as his adoptive mother took a stand against his decision once again. The red haired woman crossed her arms underneath her chest in front of the young man in front of her, despite him towering over her in his height. She hadn't raised him for nothing and still wielded the matriarchal power to bend him over her knee if necessary. She loved her children with all of her heart but she was dead set against him, and he knew why. He just didn't like it.

"You'll let Pyrrha go." It was unfair. His sister could go to Beacon but he couldn't? It was favoritism.

"Pyrrha," His mother stressed, "Has aura. You don't."

The young man snorted, his silver streaked sandy hair tossing around his head as he did so, "You know that doesn't matter to me. Have you ever seen anyone cut me? Even my sister?"

"No." She answered begrudgingly. Despite how incredible her daughter was as a young huntress, Argyros was strong. His technique with the blade transcended skilled; it was art. If the both of them had entered the competitions in Mistral it would have been unfair, even Pyrrha was dominating her opponents. Her two children were only a match for each other with Pyrrha keeping up only because of her semblance.

"It doesn't matter Arg. The world is a vast place, there are plenty of people better than your sister. If any of them go for the killing blow you won't have aura to protect you."

"That's the thing mother. They won't."

Phyllis Nikos shook her head, "My decision is final. You're not going."

Without another word the woman turned and left leaving her son with his head hanging until the door to the training room closed behind her. With a yell of frustration Argyros lashed out at the nearest training dummy, tearing it's head from it's shoulders with the sound of screeching metal and sending the decapitated head bounding across the arena to smash against the far wall with a mighty crash.

It was true that no one yet could match him in technique with the sword, like a sponge he had absorbed form after form with any and every blade though his favorite weapon was his falcata, Moiriao Lampsi. But despite everything he could do with a sword he still could not use aura, or to be more specific he didn't have any. Oh, he had tried. Had someone try to unlock it but nothing happened, even after repeat attempts. His aura was well and truly locked. At first he'd begun to think he had no soul, that he was the same as the Grimm and that's when his mother had told him.

Argyros had known he was different from other children, even from his sister. Always stronger, always faster, until the day Pyrrha had her aura unlocked and could then truly compete with him. His sister was always so competitive despite being so meek. But of course the reason was that he was different. The way his mother told it his real mother appeared as if from nowhere with him swaddled in goldspun cloth.

The tale sounded like some sort of fever dream but she was serious as she told him that his real mother asked her to care for him. It was a surreal description. The woman, who had introduced herself as Nike, had a presence that hummed with a power unseen but definitely felt. Garbed strangely the mother had begged for the life of her son. The story Phyllis was told was one of a young child hunted by wrathful relatives.

"_It was odd." His mother had explained on his twelfth birthday, "Her words rang like a bell, clear even in the rain and city traffic. I felt," she drifted off, trying to capture some vague idea, "connected to her. I felt, deep down, that I could trust her."_

_Phyllis looked at him with the gentle smile he was raised with, "I'm glad I did. Otherwise I wouldn't have you."_

The memory calmed him down. Argyros sometimes felt like a stranger among his family and it was this memory he clung to the most because even in his darkest thoughts he knew that his mother, his adoptive mother, had _chosen _him. And he loved her for it, even if they didn't see eye to eye sometimes.

"Brother?" The young man started at the sudden address and turned around to find his sister, Pyrrha, standing there. She look hesitant and had one arm crossed under her chest, gripping her other arm, "Was it _that _again?"

"Like usual." He said exasperated. It was a common argument between he and his mother ever since Pyrrha had decided to attend the academy in Vale, "Sorry you had to hear that." He tried really hard to give her a reassuring smile. Sometimes it seemed like she was taking this the hardest, blaming herself for everything like her decision was the catalyst.

"I'm the one who should be-"

"Pyrrha that's nonsense and you know it." He interrupted her with a patented brotherly glare, "My problems with Mom aren't your fault."

He should have known they were going to go through this, his sister had been looking increasingly haggard these last few days as the date for initiation was fast approaching. He was jealous of her, for sure, but didn't hold that against her. If his mother didn't believe he could make it without aura then he all he had to do was prove it.

"Maybe if I went to Haven?"

"You'd hate it there, Pyr. The whole reason you're going to Beacon is to escape your fame." When she didn't answer he knew he'd hit the issue on the head. His sister hated her fame, hated being put on a pedestal. There had been a few people who had tried to approach her in the past but her skill had isolated her from her peers with some attempting to use her and others that just wanted to meet the icon, not the person she was. Argyros was her only friend and he supported her attempt to break from her comfort zone and head to beacon, away from him so that she could make some real friends, "Trust me, Sis. I have a plan."

The redheaded girl cheered up visibly at that. He knew the family kept him like a secret, something their mother saw as a necessity because of his 'disability'. Argyros liked to think of it as a handicap, his physical ability wasn't in question whether it was his speed, strength, or reaction time he was on par with any trained aura user, he just didn't have that extra layer of protection that they did.

A quick hug had her wrinkling her nose at the musky scent of his sweat, "Make sure to take a shower before you come down for dinner. Mom will have a conniption if you smell like this at the table."

Laughing he agreed, "Alright Pyr, you don't have to tell me." Argyros left after the same door their mother had left through into the mansion at large. The Nikos family was well off and a large part of the history of Mistral, especially the Great War. The family had supplied several individuals who had distinguished themselves throughout the conflict and gone on to do many great things. Nowadays the main family resided in Mistral and held influence with the other old families there. Here the name was a little smaller in Argus with Phyllis being the head of the branch family. With Pyrrha's impressive record in the competition circuit, the main family was perfectly happy not to meddle in their lives. He didn't even think they knew he existed.

That wasn't his concern anyways. He couldn't care less for those who ride the coattails of their ancestors. What had they done in this generation? Nothing. The young man's goals lay elsewhere, halfway across the world. He knew he could do it, prove himself to his mother. He just needed time to distinguish himself and going to Beacon would get him out of reach of his mother. Argyros knew she couldn't leave Argus easily, she managed the family affairs here and he was a seventeen year old who was capable of making his own decisions in life anyways. Even if she came to Vale, there was no way to force him home once he was enrolled.

Once the teen got to his room after taking a shower he pulled a backpack out from under his bed, in it was stuffed clothes and other traveling supplies with a stash of lien which he pocketed. It was a large sum he had been saving up for months by doing odd jobs around the city. By his research it should be enough to last him two weeks, just long enough for Beacon to start. Pyrrha wouldn't arrive in Vale until two days before initiation, her enrollment almost set in stone already.

But Argyros? He didn't even have transcripts and to get into Beacon without previous schooling required one to take a practical exam, the last of which was being held in a few days. That was his way in. All he had to do was make it to Vale and get a spot in the practical.

He paused, his gaze wandering over to the oak desk in his room, nestled up against the window looking out over Argus. Resting on the old, polished wood was a frame that contained the four members of their family. Next to his mother was his father, a dark haired man with a rugged, chiseled look about him. He wasn't home often, usually out working as a huntsman. In the picture Argyros was sat next to Pyrrha, them both with a smile on their face. He remembered when the photo was taken, years ago after his sister's debut as a competition fighter, after she had won her first bout. She looked so proud of herself, so happy that it had him grinning unintentionally.

The picture was taken out of the frame and folded carefully before being placed in the pocket of his pants, patting it to make sure it was there. It wasn't something he was keen on forgetting. Finally his vision fell down to the other item on the desk, a letter addressed to his mother, one he'd pre-written in case his final attempt to persuade her fell through. Which it had.

Despite his resolve to leave for Beacon and yet still felt a sense of unease and trepidation that pooled in the bottom of his stomach. There was not doubt in his mind, this was a betrayal of his mother's trust. He knew why she did it, understood, but his gut instinct screamed at him that he needed to be more. To prove desire to protect the innocent was there but it was something more primal that drove him.

It was the desire to test himself. To enter a tribulation and come out victorious. To battle and fight and win, his blood thundered with a mighty need. There were so few who would test him on that front, his sister being the only one he knew and their spars grew more intense as the years moved on. Argyros could deny the need no longer. He _had _to go to Beacon, he felt it in the very marrow of his bones that the action was the correct one, but also a difficult one.

With a silent apology to his mother and sister who would worry for him once he was gone he left the house that night, stealing into the blanket of darkness to board the flight to Kingsport then onwards from there on another flight straight to Vale.

* * *

The metropolitan city of Vale was vastly different from Mistral, the only other capital Argyros had visited before. It definitely wasn't the same kind of majestic spectacle as the city build into the valley of the Mistral mountains but it had it's own charm. The buildings were taller and it had massive roads that were nowhere to be seen in the city on Anima. He felt like such a tourist staring out the window of the taxi he had taken from the airship docks.

The journey took a good half hour as the vehicle made it's way to ferry docks at the edge of the city. The exam wouldn't be taking place in Beacon but rather at Signal preparatory academy. The academy itself was pretty large and located on the island of Patch just outside of Vale. The school itself was attached to the main town on the island so it was just a short jaunt to get there. After registering himself as an applicant, and the receptionist had given him a strange look when he said his name, he went to book into a nearby in. The inn itself seemed to thrive off of the common occurrence of the exam that was held several times between the start of each year to allow those without formal education to try and gain entrance to Beacon.

The exam was to be held the next day which meant that the inn was full to the brim of entrants and luckily Argyros was able to book a room in one of the few rooms they had left. Once inside his room he checked his scroll and winced at the sheer amount of calls from both his mother and sister. He was glad he had silenced calls from them or else he might have gotten kicked off the airship for the disturbance. Glad he didn't have to face his mother just quite yet he put his scroll down in favor of getting his equipment out and ready. For the journey he had worn is regular clothes but the exam tomorrow would require actual gear, especially if he wanted to fight.

After checking the armor he'd brought, he laid it out. His greaves and gauntlets shining in their gold color. Of course it wasn't really gold, that's be a ridiculous metal to make armor or weapons out of, but rather a Mistralian steel that was leafed with a shining bronze outer layer. Phyllis had made sure to obtain the best equipment she could for him. Despite being against him becoming a huntsman she had allowed him to train alongside Pyrrha. She had never told him why, always electing to use the excuse 'Just because'.

Mairiao Lampsi, his trusty weapon, was a much easier affair to check on. The falcata was just that, a curved sword with more weight at the tip of the sword design for cutting power. He didn't use mechashift weaponry for one reason, it was too delicate for him. Most huntresses and huntsmen used their aura to protect their weapons. It was how they were made light enough to wield deftly yet durable enough to cut through concrete. Argyros couldn't do that so made due with just his falcata. In the end he used the materials brought with him to maintain his weapon. Making sure it was polished and sharp as can be before placing it back into it's sheath.

He was ready.

The next day couldn't come fast enough and his impatience had grown to considerable levels before he finally left for Signal. Argyros made his way through the crowds towards the building where the exam would be held. It was a large exhibition hall with ten different mats for holding multiple matches at the same time. The second floor was host to stands on the edge that looked out over the arenas and were all quite full already. The Beacon Exam had become a spectacle for the island dwellers and he observed quite a few people his age watching the entrants with hawkish gazes. Some of them were probably Beacon students looking out for the new blood.

By chance his eyes met that of a young woman who looked his age. She had purple eyes and bright blond hair, when their eyes she waved cheekily at him. Argyros could feel her thirst for combat. He could feel the same feeling from a number of the other entrants as well. IT sang with his blood and got his heart pumping in anticipation. It wasn't long before he was checked in and stood amongst the crowd of hopefuls while an older blond woman with green eyes walked briskly out in front of them,

She turned to them with clipboard in hand, "My name is Glynda Goodwitch, deputy headmistress of Beacon Academy. Today, you are all taking this exam so Beacon can select from among you several students." The speech was pretty standard and ARgyros found himself wishing she would just cut to the chase while she listed off the sparring rules, "You will be sparring against professional hunters who are Beacon alumni. Your sparring partner will be your proctor and you will be observed and graded based on how you handle yourself, not whether you win."

_We get to fight a professional?_ Argyros felt his heartbeat quicken again in excitement. While he'd fought his instructors constantly after a while they didn't bother so getting to fight new people was an exciting prospect.

Unfortunately his patience was tested yet again as he was made to wait for his bout. There were plenty of hunters administering the test, twenty that he counted, and they traded off after every bout so that they could rest and properly test each and every student. There were a good hundred people to work through and it looked like he was in the last bunch to be tested. When his name was finally caused he paid no attention to the whispers of the crowd and walked with head held high to the designated mat. The proctor assign to the mat stood with a cocky grin, one hand on the lilt of his overly large weapon.

Argyros had been hoping to get the blond man as his examiner seeing as the man was using hand to hand against his opponents but he'd also been watching the man in front of him too. The easy smile on his face made everything look like he wasn't taking it seriously but the utterly demolished all of his opponents. This man had been his second choice of opponent and he was glad he got what appeared to be one of the stronger examiners in the hall.

"Hey kid. You ready for this? Also no hard feeling if you don't make it, Beacon isn't for everyone." The older huntsman ran his free hand through it black hair flecked with gray and winked with one pale red eye.

Argyros knew what it was, a tactic and a test, and so responded with all the attention such a thing required, meaning none at all, "I'll be in your care then."

The examiner smiled just a little bit wider but it let him know he had probably scored a point before the match had begun. He noticed out of the corner of his eye that Goodwitch had appeared at the side of the mat. She had been refereeing sparrs for the last few hours and signaled for the test to begin.

Cautiously Argyros approached the older man with Lampsi held in front of him and his off hand hovering closer to his chest. As soon as he got within striking distance the falcata lashed out towards the man's neck and he felt some satisfaction as the examiner's eyes widened slightly at the speed of the strike. The large sword leapt up faster than the young man thought possible and intercepted his blade, their weapons clanging off of eachother, but Argyros was already moving. Spinning clockwise and dropping low he slashed with his weapon towards the man's legs but the strike was jumped over. Pulling Lampsi back he chambered a thrust that was deflected off the man's considerable blade.

The examiner went on the offense afterwards by bringing his bastard sword up and then down into a quick overhead slash which was sidestepped. The older man predicted this and threw his shoulders into the young man, bowling him over. Argyros' reflexes were good, though, and he rolled with the strike to spring back up, throwing his weapon at the man. He deflected the falcata in surprise and just barely managed to get the broadside of his blade into position to block the heavy blow that rang out as he punched towards the huntsman's head.

With his vision obscured he didn't notice Argyros catching his weapon as it came back down and only realized he had when a gauntleted hand gripped his and pulled his weapon aside to strike fiercely at him with the blade held in the other hand. Resorting to the only thing he could, the huntsman spun his sword around and flicked the triggering mechanism in causing the black to curve around it's segments and the hilt to extend into a shaft.

Within the space of a second the examiner was standing there with a full length scythe that was screaming up from the ground in and upward diagonal slash. Time seemed to slow for Argyros, his heart racing as he felt his body speed up in response to his opponent.

_There is always a path to victory._

He stepped closer to the huntsman and only the haft of the scythe impacted his side. It still hurt but he didn't receive a grievous injury for it either. Unable to swing Lampsi in the close quarters he pounded his hilt into the face of the examiner, dazing him for a short second. Before he could get another blow in the man slammed his forehead into Argyros' causing them both to seperate. The young man felt a grin steal over his features. This was what he wanted. The thrill of facing someone stronger than you. The danger of facing a blade and knowing your life hung on a razor thin edge between defeat and victory.

"Woah kid!" The older huntsman shouted out holding his hands out to stop the charge he was preparing. This brought along confusion, he wasn't done yet. This couldn't be it, could it? He wanted more, "You're bleeding!"

This caused him to pause for a second. Bleading? Who cared when there was a fight in front of him? But he brought his hand up to check and sure enough blood was flowing from his nose, where the man's headbutt had landed just a few moments ago. Miss Goodwitch's steps were rapidly approaching and he barely registered that they _could_ be heard in the exhibition hall, it was dead quiet and all eyes were on him.

"Mister.." She looked down at her clipboard, "Nikos. What happened to your aura? Why did you not defend yourself."

Argyros was finally forced to tear his gaze away from his opponent to look at the woman addressing him. Her green eyes held concern tempered by her stern nature but the concern was there.

"I'm fine. Let's continue with the test." The young man responded.

"Answer my question first." Goodwitch refused to let up.

Frustrated Arg screwed his eyes shut, "I don't have aura, now can we get on with the test?"

"You never had your aura unlocked?" She sounded aghast, and he knew why. Trying out for Beacon without your aura active was suicidal. For everyone but him that was.

"No." He replied quietly enough that only she and the examiner could hear him, "I don't _have _aura. At all. There's nothing there to be unlocked."

When he looked up it was to see her shocked expression as she exchanged glances and he new what was about to happen.

"I see then. Your examination is over, Mister Nikos."

Arg wished that a hole would open up and swallow him up. This was the first time he hadn't been strong enough, the first opponent to truly not only challenge him but push him. He had seen it in the short exchange they'd had. If they had continued he would have been pushed to the brink and his heart longed for challenge.

Instead he made his way out of Signal, his feet heavy as they trailed towards the inn. For the first time in his life he was force to face something he never had before.

Defeat.

* * *

Ozpin sat behind the desk in his tower sipping at his coffee as he went over the days documents. Glynda was off attending to the final entrance exam at Signal which left him to deal with paperwork. Most of it was standard fair, authorization for projected costs in food and maintenance, budget allocations, and the like. It was, then, to his surprise when the doors to his office pinged and admitted someone he expected and someone he did not. His deputy, Glynda, and Qrow Branwen marched into his office. Glynda looked flustered, very much unlike her, and Qrow's face was set too far into neutrality to be natural.

This should be interesting.

"Glynda. You're early. Was there a problem with the exam?" He asked, knowing he would get nowhere with pleasantries.

"The exam concluded, yes." She was tight lipped and Ozpin raised an eyebrow to Qrow who shrugged and decided to fill in for the woman who seemed unusually out of sorts.

"Something weird happened at the end." Qrow continued for her, "Some kid named Nikos took an injury."

"Young Miss Nikos was already accepted, why would she be at the exam?" Of course he had accepted the young prodigy to his school, just looking at her talent from her competitions was enough to get her into any school she wanted to attend, it would only boost their reputation, among other things.

"Mister Nikos, actually." Glynda corrected which cause Ozpin to start. He wasn't aware that the Nikos Matriarch had had a son, maybe a son from the main family? But if he was then surely he would be attending Haven.

"Was he injured badly?" He asked already thinking of the ramifications of injuring a Nikos to Beacon's reputation.

"Just a bloody nose, actually. But here's the thing, " Qrow, much to Ozpin's irritation, stopped for a dramatic pause, "It was from my headbutt. See thing is it was the only decent blow I landed on him in the exam."

That didn't sound right. Any trained prospective student would have used their aura and Ozpin quickly worked through the possibilities, "He didn't use his aura?"

"Didn't have any. And by his words he never did, can't. Apparently they tried unlocking his aura but it didn't work."

No that _was _interesting. Aura was a manifestation of the soul and not having aura had serious implications. If this was true he could maybe see why he'd never heard of the child.

"How was he?" He asked Qrow.

"You can't be serious Ozpin!" Glynda interjected, "He has no aura. You cannot be considering his application."

He glanced at his deputy once again and could guess as to why she was so flustered and why they had brought it up to him. Qrow would want to bring Mister Nikos in and Glynda was heavily against it, they had probably been arguing the whole way to his office.

"Right now I am simply trying to gain a complete view of the situation." Then he turned back to Qrow, "How did he handle himself?"

Qrow smirked, "Damn well actually. From the small spar we had I'd say he's at least at the level of fourth years. He was strong and his technique was on point. He's no civvie, that's for sure."

Ozpin put down his mug and steepled his fingers becoming lost in thought. A young man not possessing _any _aura and going by the name Nikos. It was quite an interesting development. IT was shaping up to be one of _those _years. He'd been headmaster for a very long time and he knew when to go with his instinct.

"Let me meet with the young man. I'll make a decision about his application then. I assume you have it with you?" The last part was directed at Glynda who begrudgingly tapped on her pad and sent over a file that pinged at his desktop computer. Pulling up the file right away the old headmaster studied it with great interest. Listed relatives were Alexander and Phyllis Nikos and with a sibling as Pyrrha Nikos. While it was surprising that phyllis had two children, learning that this child was as skilled, seemingly, as his sister. The advantage to having both siblings in his school was certainly tempting and the mystery as to the boys aura enticing.

It took some time to set up the appointment and the boy was brought to Beacon in an hour, highly unusual but Ozpin made room for unusual things, things that piqued his interest. They boy who walked through those doors was definitely of interest and his breath caught when he saw him. As a physical specimen the young man was certainly in line with those who attended his academy. There was a hesitant look in his brown eyes but that wasn't what got his attention the most.

It was his presence.

It was a force unlike anything he'd felt before. It wasn't anything physical but something he felt, an imposition that made him seem much bigger than he actually was. An aura, Ozpin almost cracked a smile at the ironic thought. Ozpin didn't think that anyone could see what his old eyes could see, except maybe Her. The headmaster motioned for the young man before him to sit down and the chair scraped back as he did so. Ozpin stalled for a moment with a long sip of his coffee, an old habit and tactic while he gathered his thoughts.

"Mister Nikos, is it?" Ozpin asked and then continued when he got a nod, "You probably know me as Headmaster Ozpin. It is a pleasure to meet you."

"You too, sir." The boy replied, it seemed like the hesitation was being replaced by wariness.

"Your sister is one Pyrrha Nikos?" Another nod, "I take it from your spar with Mister Branwen that you have comparable training?"

"I do. Pyrrha and I trained together since the beginning."

"And yet you've never once debuted in the public eye. Do you mind if I ask why?"

The boy stopped for a second, suspicion in his eyes but Ozpin could see the gears whirling in his young mind, "It wasn't for me, Sir."

A lie, "Wasn't for you? Or is it that you couldn't, given your condition."

Distrust was there, that was expected. Any stranger prying into one's private affairs was going to be met as such. Ozpin leaned forward with his elbows on the desk. The answer to his question was irrelevant, he had just wanted to push a little.

"Why do you want to come to my academy?" Ozpin asked and was pleased to see the surprise at the sudden change of subject. Argyros was put off balance and probably relieved, that was good. That was what he wanted.

"Um… I wanted to protect people. Same as my sister." The young man answered but it was another lie, or at least not the whole truth. Ozpin could tell in the way the boy's eyes glanced before he answered.

"If you wanted to be a huntsman, why did you not attend Sanctum like your sister?"

"I think you know why, Sir." Finally some resistance. It was slight but there was an edge in his voice now as the boy began to suspect he was being played with. Ozpin certainly did enjoy his games.

"I suspect. But I'd like to hear your story." Ozpin said before spreading his hands in a welcoming manner, "What you are willing to share."

The ticking sound of the gears in his office sounded for a moment and Ozpin watched the emotions crossing his face. Hesitation, worry, distrust, even fear before a certain amount of acceptance that if he wanted into Beacon he needed at least a solid reason for the headmaster of the academy to let someone without aura in.

"I've never had aura. When Dad tried to unlock mine with Pyrrha's on my twelfth birthday. I don't know why it didn't work," Ozpin strongly suspected that not to be true, "but I've been without aura my entire life."

"And yet you've become skilled enough to make someone like Qrow Branwen draw his scythe, he only does that when he gets serious." Ozpin added when he saw the look of confusion in Argyros' face.

What Ozpin didn't miss was the way his face lit up for a split second at the mention of being taken seriously, it was an expression of pride, "That's good."

"Indeed, that makes you quite the anomaly." The boy stiffened a bit, realizing what the headmaster was getting at, "Being a huntsman is no easy feat. It requires years of dedication t,o obtain your certification and even then the mortality rate among professionals is one of the highest on Remnant, even though all trained huntsmen and huntresses have aura at their disposal. Do you, someone without such a thing, truly want to undertake such a dangerous career?"

The time the young man took to answer was not hesitation, that could be seen in his eyes, but rather him putting the correct words to articulate what he wanted to convey. When he finally did reply there was no doubt in his eyes, "Headmaster. There is no other possibility for me other than becoming a huntsman, it's… every fiber of my being wants this."

For a while Ozpin stared directly into his brown eyes with Argyros staring back unflinchingly. The headmaster could find nothing to contradict what the young man had said just then.

"Very well then, Mister Nikos." A faint smile playing across his lips, "Welcome to Beacon."

* * *

**A/N: This is probably a huge surprise to anyone who follows my works but this was a request of me and I liked their pitch and thought I would publish it. I don't plan on this being an overly long chapter though I am going to experiment with longer chapters though that also means a bit longer in between chapters. I'm hoping to make each chapter about this long, though that's no promise on my part.**

**Also, just some warning for anyone coming into this: I am excluding Jaune from the cast, though no Argyros is NOT a stand in for him. There are only a few superficial similarities between the two. I'm mainly doing it because if Argyros goes where I plan him to go there really won't be a lot of room for Jaune unless I exclude other characters as well. I'm not gonna do that. Plus I have some other plans for Pyrrha anyways. The only other story I have that has an OC as a main character is Old Man Jaune, and I'm not particularly fond of OCs. HOWEVER, I figured I need practice writing OCs that are a little more practical or have interesting aspects.**


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